Well, Congrats, Vid! That's a LOW mileage B12! What kind of shape is it in? I bought my B12 with only 1800 miles on it...but it had been sitting for a couple of years and the fuel system was mildly clogged.

Corbin seats... yes, they are still are available; I just checked the website. I bought mine ... shoot, I guess ten years ago now...it might actually have been a FleaBay purchase...

I really enjoy my Corbin BUT: the factory builds-in a little "snout" on the front of the seat, that sort of hugs the back of the gas tank...it rises a little in front. This thing KICKED ME IN THE NUTS sooo many times that I couldn't take it anymore. One day I pulled the staples out of the pan in the front of the seat, peeled-back the cover, and HACK-SAWED OFF THE SNOUT. Then I carefully pulled the cover forward again and stapled it back on with a heavy staple gun. ONE HUNDRED PERCENT BETTER. Eventually I brought it to a car seat upholstery guy, and had him mod the front carefully to my specs... thickness and shape.. Now it's GREAT. The best part of it is that it's FLAT right up to the tank... you're not being jammed in the Slats... wide and flat, I can sit on it all day (it's seen cross-country trips), and it even works wonderfully on trackdays.

With the "snout" in place, you may or may not have any issue. Maybe it's just me being picky... or maybe my Man Goods are monumental...

The bike is in great shape. The guy I got it from was the second owner, had 5 bikes including the Bandit, all spotless and immaculate. He had work done on it, replaced all lines, breaks, clutch, fuel, with steel braided, ones. Carbs rebuilt once, I just rebuilt them again. Everything on the bike is clean.

Still got my 2001. ANymore I just ride. Got on here to see what info regarding hard starting. Couldn't find the pilot jet info on fastlarry's web page I saved (anyone remember him or his web pages???? Or Anders Brink???)

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2001 Bandit 1200Sthe sum intelligence of humanity is a fixed quantity. The greater number of people, the less intelligence per person (and I resemble this remark).If it's too loud, you're too old.

Starting problems?Most likely DIRT. Unless you have some wildly-incorrect fueling issue, the best bet is some sort of MUNG.The pilot jets on my '98 B12 used to clog-up a lot; those orifi are VERY small, and any junk from the tank (rust, etc) WILL clog them up.

Something has changed with mine over the years... because it doesn't happen very much at all anymore.

So... I suggest that you probably don't need NEW pilots, but rather just to clean out the old ones. there's no reason why they should go "bad".

Please excuse me if I'm being "preachy", but remember not to use a needle or tool to free them. Usually a good squirt of Brakeleen or carb cleaner, followed by a healthy blast of air, will clean them out sufficiently.

42 years of bike mechanics... and I still believe: 85% of all tuning problems stem form DIRT in one place or another.

PS... how is your air filter? My bike runs like DOG-doo if the filter gets even moderately dirty

Air filter definitely needs to be replaced.Took carbs apart this weekend. PITA, as much as I remember from last time. All jests looked good. I still gave them a dip in the ultrasonic and finished as you said with carb cleaner and a blast of air. Will find out if it made any difference. For the record, I doubt it will as they looked BRAND NEW.

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2001 Bandit 1200Sthe sum intelligence of humanity is a fixed quantity. The greater number of people, the less intelligence per person (and I resemble this remark).If it's too loud, you're too old.

Re: clean jets - Yeah, if your air filter is dirty (especially of it actually LOOKS dirty), that would absolutely affect the smooth fueling. As I said, my B12 is VERY sensitive to a dirty filter (I have some engine mods involved).

WHILE YOU'RE IN THERE.... (if you haven't put it back together yet), go through ALL the jet holes and channels you can get to... douche out everything. I learned the hard way to TAKE YOUR TIME and do a COMPLETE JOB while you can. Do you know how to check your float levels? No time like the present! You may find one of them is way off; it happens if it had gotten knocked...or maybe a previous mechanic didn't do it right. This could be a major reason for performance problems, and is absolutely worth checking while you're there. I believe flaot levels for all carbureted B12's is 13mm... but you should double-check that for your year. Investigate Youtube for the method, if you're not sure.

In terms of getting your carbs in and out smoothly-

- Lay the carb bank on top of the frame rails up top, (use a rag under them to keep from scratching the frame).. re-attach your throttle cables in that position. A good pair of needle-nose pliers will make getting the cables back on easier. Push the PULL cable down through the bank. leaving enough wire slack so you can manoever the ball end into it's hole.(HINT- I do not run a PUSH cable... just the PULL. Take this suggestion at your own risk, as the PUSH cable is there for safety reasons... but I have been running just a PULL cable for years, on various bikes. You just have to make sure everything is clean and lubed, smooth action. Better to just stay with the factory push-pull set-up, if you're not sure).

- Spray a little silicone spray around the intake boots ONLY ON THE HEAD SIDE. That will help you plug the carb bank back in. Make sure your screws are loosened up enough on the clamps. Then, manoever the bank down between the rails, and carefully wiggle them into line with the intake boots. Once in place, wiggle them around while shoving them in, one side at a time, keeping pressure on both sides. You will feel them CLUNK into place.

- Make sure your airbox is completely loose....take the two screws out that hold it to the frame.. and make sure you have as much wiggle-room around the wiring harnesses.

- Make sure you take the filter out of the airbox, so you can reach through the box to help align the airbox rubber boots onto the back of the carb mouths.

- Run a HAIR DRYER on HOT, across the airbox rubber boots for a minute before you try to plug them onto the back of the carbs. That will help a LOT. DO NOT spray silicone spray onto these boots (behind the carbs), as it will make it harder to get the airbox boots to stay in place.

- As you get one side of the airbox boots over the carb mouths, keep some pressure on the opposite side, with your knee, hand, or whatever you can... so the other side won't pop off. If your airbox is truly free of the harnesses and frame mount lugs, it will be a LOT easier.

- Reach through the airbox and feel for the rubber boots going around the carb mouths with your finger tips. These MUST all fit snugly. Use a long Phillips screwdriver to get to the clamp screws. The boots may pop off the other side as you get the one side clamped down. PATIENCE!Once the boots are in place, then replace the airbox mounting screws in the back...then the air filter and clover.

- Only tighten up the intake (head) side air-boot clamps after the airbox is fully in place.

Double check everything! Then, reconnect your fuel lines carefully, and make sure to turn the fuel valve to PRIME for a couple of minutes... watching out for gas running down onto the ground... which means you F'-d up somewhere...probably with your float mountings.

Hope this helps. PATIENCE! CLEANLINESS! THOROUGHNESS!

PS... I was riding my B12 yesterday and after a couple hours realized that MINE was sputtering just off idle. I know exactly what it is... a clogged pilot. So..I'll have to do the cleanout as well! Fortunately, after 2 B12's (the current one with 130K miles), I've gotten good at it, and can get them in and out... 40 minutes in my shop... an hour, out on the road with my toolkit! Practice makes perfect.

"As I said, my B12 is VERY sensitive to a dirty filter "Mine seems not so much. After ultrasonic cleaning then carb cleaner spraying and compressed air drying, everything seems to be back to working as it used to. All jest LOOKED clean to the naked eye. In the ultrasonic, when I turned it on it seemed like a small "puff" came out of each needle jet when first started. Was that it, unseen buildup? Dunno. Also, the piplot screw plugs had not been removed. I did so, and set all adjustments to 2 3/4 turns out. When put back together, all seems well. Even with the dirty air filter (waiting on new one to arrive).

One other thing I did was re-gap all spark plugs back to .025". THey all looked pretty decent, and only 8,000 miles since last change.

Good idea about removing air filter to get to airbox boots.

« Last Edit: April 09, 2017, 08:00:50 PM by asskickinpeanuts »

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2001 Bandit 1200Sthe sum intelligence of humanity is a fixed quantity. The greater number of people, the less intelligence per person (and I resemble this remark).If it's too loud, you're too old.

Yeah, you have to keep fuel systems clean on B12's.. especially with those tiny pilot jets. Remember that modern gas breaks down into glue very quickly these days...

Back when I was wrenching in dealerships guys would bring their bikes in each Spring and say, "Geez, it was running fine last SUMMER.. Guess it needs a good tune-up." They'd sign the work-order, then I'd put the bike up on a lift and drain the float bowls...75% of the time the bike would start right up.

I'm currently looking for a proper 90 degree-bend fuel filter... I tried a straight one some years ago and had problems with an air-bubble or vacuum issue, (the gas would stop flowing), because there's not really enough room in there to mount a straight filter vertically... it ends-up sitting on its side.. and the Go Juice would stop flowing.

Also: make good and sure there's no signs of rust in the bottom of your tank, of course. THAT will drive you crazy (had it happen on my GPZ1100).

Still got my 2001. ANymore I just ride. Got on here to see what info regarding hard starting. Couldn't find the pilot jet info on fastlarry's web page I saved (anyone remember him or his web pages???? Or Anders Brink???)

By the way, I am an old user of this site from way back when it existed only as an email list. I have owned 3 B12's (97, 99, 99) Still have a low mileage 1999. If you search the forum for username "Chevsuz12" that is my old username. I would be happy to assist any of you with bandit questions.